Do you think there are too many streaming services, and you don’t know what’s on what service or channel? You’re in luck a little bit from a consumer perspective. Today, Paramount announced that it would integrate Showtime into Paramount+ across both streaming and linear later this year. With the change, the Paramount+ premium streaming tier and Showtime linear network will rebrand as “Paramount+ with Showtime” in the U.S.
So that’s maybe good if you have one or the other and not both and occasionally wanted to watch a show on either channel but not sign up permanently, but rebranding mergers like this often have a lot of fallout.
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Deadline reports there are already three immediate casualties on this front. Two shows, Showtime’s “American Gigolo” and “Let The Right One In” have been outright canceled, and a third show that hasn’t even aired yet, “Three Women” is not moving forward (despite a splashy Vanity Fair story last year where the series and its cast were given the first look treatment; a teaser trailer exists too which you can watch below).
To focus on that show for a second, “Three Women” is an intimate, haunting portrayal of American female desire, s three women are on a crash course to overturn their lives radically. The series, which is shot and complete, stars Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise, and Shailene Woodley, with Gabrielle Creevy, Blair Underwood, and Lola Kirke. Based on the international bestselling book by Lisa Taddeo, The series is also executive-produced by Emmy Rossum and with “House of Cards” alum Laura Eason serving as showrunner. It’s also on our list of the Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2023.
Here’s the official synopsis of that show now up in the air.
Louise Friedberg (Y: The Last Man, Borgen, Deliver Us) has signed on to direct the first two episodes, which she will also executive produce. In this intimate, haunting portrayal of American female desire, three women are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives. Lina, a homemaker in suburban Indiana, is a decade into a passionless marriage when she embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming and transforms her life. Sloane, a glamorous entrepreneur in the Northeast, has a committed open marriage with Richard, until two sexy new strangers threaten their aspirational love story. Maggie, a student in North Dakota, weathers an intense storm after accusing her married English teacher of an inappropriate relationship. Gia, a writer grieving the loss of her family, persuades each of these three spectacular “ordinary” women to tell her their stories, and her relationships with them change the course of her life forever.
As for where “Three Women” lands, well, apparently, there are options. Deadline says the drama has already been quietly shopped by its producers; there is interest and at least one offer on the table.
To be perfectly fair, and with apologies to those shows, both “American Gigolo” and “Let The Right One In” received terrible reviews and had low ratings, so a cancelation for either was probably coming regardless of any Paramount/Showtime mergers.
The second fallout of it will be with those working at both companies, as mergers often mean cost-cutting measures. Paramount’s Bob Bakish acknowledged “uncertainty” for staffers but said these moves could “unlock operational efficiencies and financial benefits” for the company.
“While we are confident this is the right move for our company, our consumers, and our partners, we know this change brings uncertainty for the teams working on these brands and businesses,” Bakish wrote in a memo to staffers. “We are committed to being as transparent and thoughtful as possible throughout this process, and we expect to share additional details in the coming weeks.”
Many will point to the streaming bubble bursting, building too fast, too soon, and as we had seen in 2022, a lot of cutbacks as streamers and TV Networks trying to readjust their strategies following Wall Street’s reevaluation of the streaming market.